The War of the Crystals Pt II: The Love
by SpacemanSpiff
Summary: Novelization of Final Fantasy IV. This part covers Cecil's journey from after Mt. Ordeals to just before entering the Underworld. {Update} Cecil returns to Mysidia a Paladin, but will they accept him?


Disclaimer: I do not own anything contained within this writing(the name Final Fantasy, characters, other names, etc.). That all belongs to Squenix(Square-Enix) so if you've got beef, they'll chew it up and spit it out!  
  
A/N: Well I thought I'd bring you all a nice little Christmas gift, even if it is a few days late. Here begins Part Two of "The War of the Crystals", my attempt at making a decently written and readable version of the game we've all come to know and love: Final Fantasy IV(or II if you've played the american style, I like to take bits and pieces from both so we can all enjoy ;p). The introduction is a poem to Cecil from his father that I wrote. Now there's a small insignificant reference to FF:Unlimited in the first part with the chocobos, but some of you might not catch it. I'll leave it to you guys to figure it out. Now enjoy, or else I will kill you until you die from it!   
  
  
  
Oh...and Feliz Navidad y Feliz Año Nuevo a todos.  
  
_____________________________________________________________________________  
  
****Final Fantasy IV****  
  
***Part II - The Love***  
  
* XI *  
  
- The Mysidian Legend -  
  
________________________  
  
A sound breaks through,  
  
what little each day brings.  
  
A sound sure and true,  
  
giving life to so many things.  
  
And though that sound may die,  
  
there will soon be another.  
  
For the life between you and I,  
  
is unlike any other.  
  
Cecil, my dear son,  
  
there is much you must learn.  
  
And you are the one,  
  
who must take your turn.  
  
To brave this fight,  
  
though hopeless is may seem.  
  
To do what is right,  
  
though it may be unseen.  
  
For you are the one,  
  
of a dragon you were born.  
  
You're the promise, my son,  
  
to veil the moon you shall adorn.  
  
Upon this still land,  
  
we may see one another.  
  
But the earth needs your hand,  
  
with a bounty and mercy,  
  
for our mother...  
  
* * *  
  
"Dude, what if this doesn't work?!"  
  
"Will you quiet down!" Porom firmly whispered to her rather rude counterpart. Palom simply answered with his tongue as it fell from his mouth, giving her a disgusting face to look at. She just sighed and turned away from him. She was more interested in what Cecil was doing anyway.   
  
"Shh...he's about to get one," Tellah hushed the two children as they stayed hidden behind the brush, just peeking out over the top to watch Cecil stalk his prey.   
  
A few of the chocobos were grazing on the fresh grass safely tucked within a wall of trees. There were surely some sleeping as well, but Cecil had his sights set on a certain one. It looked to be quite a strong and fast bird compared to the others; somewhat of a challenge that Cecil seemed to enjoy taking. Ever since he had left Mt. Ordeals he felt as though the weight of a thousand years of grief had been lifted from his shoulders and he could finally get on with life. And he was going to live it to the fullest, which included not taking challenges such as these for granted. He remembered just a week ago how much he would've given to not be in a situation like this, and now he practically welcomed it. If his old self could see him now, he would surely wonder why the hell he was smiling.  
  
Without all his armor he was invisibly quiet, his bare feet not sending a single sound from the ground as he inched closer and closer to the clearing. There were at least five of them grazing with an unknown number of them sleeping peacefully in the tall grass. But he kept his sights on the one he wanted, the king of the pack, as he crept into the thicket. From there he would pounce on his unsuspecting prey and take it as his prize for the ride home.   
  
Ever so slowly he prowled through the haze of grass and bushes, cautiously avoiding a particular chocobo that was deep in slumber. It was so quiet he thought he could hear the giant bird snoring as he watched its body gently rise and sink, feathers ruffling as it twitched slightly.   
  
'Such sweet dreams it must be having,' Cecil thought warmly as he continued on towards his target.   
  
He had nearly reached the end of the thicket, his prize chocobo only a few feet away. He could hear its flawless beak tearing chunks of grass from the earth followed by the monotonous churning as it ate peacefully. He hated to disturb its meal, but he needed a ride. His feet were a bit worn to say the least. After coming back down off the mountain barefoot, his feet had taken quite a beating and he would have the scars to prove it.  
  
This was it, he was prepared to take the challenge head on and he was confident he would succeed. He took a deep breath and cleared his head, his eyes glistening as his prey fell into their deep blue. A confident smile crept onto his lips as he leapt up and burst from the grass...only to trip on an unseen tree root at his feet. His face was the epitome of surprise as it landed in the dirt. This unexpected intrusion sent the pack into a panic as they all nearly jumped into the trees before running in every direction. Cecil was quick to his feet as he tried his best to chase the chocobo he had been after. For a moment he thought he could catch it before it dashed into the woods, but as he made a dive for it he once again found his face in the dirt as it took a sharp turn away from him. He cursed himself as he crawled back to his feet.   
  
The sound of feet violently scraping the dirt caught Cecil's attention and he glanced over his shoulder to get a better look. What he saw sent him spinning around to face the very bird he had sought after. It was facing him a ways away, kicking up dirt behind it as if it were about to...  
  
'It's going to charge me!'   
  
Cecil found himself on the wrong side of this chocobo's tracks and for a minute he was starting to get worried. He hadn't exactly pictured his life ending at the hands of a wild bird that had a particular grudge against him. He didn't see his friends anywhere either which didn't give him much more to hope for than his own abilities. But something popped into his mind, something that dawned on him at that moment, and he regained his confident smile, awaiting the chocobo's next move.   
  
As predicted the chocobo took off towards him, preparing to trample him into the ground. Cecil stood firm as the rush of yellow feathers barreled towards him at a speed that surely would leave him dead where he was.   
  
"What's he doing? Why doesn't he move?!" Porom was nearly worrying herself to death as she watched Cecil unwavering in the chocobo's path.  
  
"Hey, man! Get outta the way! It's not gonna stop!!" Palom shouted at him, trying to talk some sort of sense into him.   
  
"There's nothing we can do now," Tellah informed the twins as they watched tensely at this incredible scene, "Let's just hope he knows what he's doing."  
  
The chocobo was nearly upon him, and yet he still refused to move from its path, his smile never fading. Cecil calmly lifted his hand and left it outstretched towards the oncoming freight-train of beak and feather. Even as the sun shone bright upon him, the three hiding in the woods looked on with wonder as his body emitted a very faint glow. What amazed them even more was what happened next.   
  
As though someone had jumped on its back and yanked the reigns, the chocobo came to a grinding halt just before sending Cecil into the ground. It simply stood before him, as if in a trance, almost as if it were asking him to mount it. Cecil walked up to it and as he did it lowered its head below his hand. He gently stroked the soft feathers atop its head and it began to almost purr as his fingers scratched around its ears.   
  
Bewilderment was all that crossed the faces of the three still watching from afar. They stared, dumbfounded, as Cecil walked around to the chocobo's side and it actually bent down to let him climb aboard. He then directed the bird over to where they were, his satisfied smile never wearing off as he noticed their obvious stupor. He wanted to start chuckling as he rode up next to them, their jaws nearly unhinged as they continued to stare, but he kept it in.  
  
"Dude...that...was so...AWESOME!!" Palom nearly jumped over his sister as he ran up to the new steed Cecil had acquired. Porom would've given him a wallop but she was still too shocked at what she had just seen.   
  
"That was amazing, Cecil," Tellah commended him as he approached the chocobo as well, "How on earth were you able to do such a thing?"  
  
"I'm not sure actually," Cecil said admittedly as he gave a slight shrug before glancing up at the summit of Mount Ordeals looming high over the trees, "Something inside just told me that I could do it, and that everything would be alright...but I--"  
  
Cecil's words were cut short as his steed let out a loud squawk that grabbed everyone's attention. Cecil followed the bird's stare and found that another chocobo was still back in the clearing. It was the one that he had found sleeping, and evidently it had slept through the entire ordeal that had just occurred a moment ago. It's head was sticking just above the tall grass and seemed to observe them for a minute before going back to sleep. Cecil immediately turned his eyes back to the twins.  
  
"Palom. Porom. Do either of you know how to catch a chocobo?"  
  
"Yea, I can do it. No sweat." Palom came forward boldly. He seemed to be feeding his ego a bit as though what he had just seen Cecil do was within the bounds of any normal person, "I'll go get that one real quick and we'll be outta here lickity-split."  
  
Palom set off into the thicket to find the dozing chocobo, disappearing behind a curtain of grass save for his pony tail which stuck out just in sight. He quickly crept through the grass until he came upon the great yellow body that was nestled peacefully in an unbroken slumber. He recounted everything that he had been taught about catching these things, going over each step in his mind like a checklist. He took a deep breath before he attempted his catch.  
  
"3..2..1...YAAHH!!" Palom wailed as he lunged through the grass, landing perfectly on the chocobo's back. He was actually stunned that he had done it, but it quickly turned to pride as his smile widened across his face. He quickly tucked his legs under the birds wings and motioned for it to rise, but that's when his smile began to fade. The chocobo didn't move. It continued to lay there, and it actually seemed to be sleeping as its lungs pushed Palom up and down on its back. He listened attentively as he rode the wave of its back and he actually heard it snoring. The chocobo was still asleep even through Palom's sudden attack. Palom's face started to flush red with anger.  
  
"Wake up you stupid bird!!" Palom yelled at the chocobo, kicking his legs into its sides as hard as he could. At first the bird didn't seem to mind, but after a moment of Palom's incessant jostling it lifted its head from under its belly. Its tall slender neck curled around as its beak met with Palom's face, staring at him rather lazily as though it still had not enough sleep. But it still refused to get up and Palom didn't have the patience for it.  
  
"What are you looking at?! Get up!" he commanded the overgrown bird, infuriated with the chocobo's insubordination. It seemed reluctant to get up as it lifted itself from its nest in the ground.  
  
"Now go!"  
  
The chocobo slowly trotted over to where the others were waiting, its sluggish steps giving the impression that it was not entirely happy to be making this trip. Porom was giggling to herself as she watched her brother nearly explode at the chocobo's lackadaisical mood. He was hopping up and down on it, trying his best to make it go faster but it continued to walk slower than the moth larvae of Kaipo. He finally had to give up as it started to go right by the others. Luckily the chocobo seemed more than happy to stop.   
  
"You're not going to get anywhere lickity-split on that thing." Porom fed her brother his own words as he steamed atop his steed.  
  
"Shut up!" he quickly retorted, "At least I caught it. I could always have this thing eat your hair, you know. I heard that chocobos love little girls' hair."  
  
Though she actually believed him, she didn't want to show it as she brushed off his words and turned to Cecil.  
  
"Can I ride with you Mr. Cecil?" she pleaded, "I'd rather not have to be on the same chocobo as my pain of a brother."  
  
Cecil nodded in agreement as he reached down for her hand to lift her up. She grabbed on and he hoisted her up on the chocobo's back behind him. Tellah was the only one left standing on the ground and he didn't like the way the seating arrangements were going.  
  
"Sorry Master Tellah," Porom apologized to the Sage who looked a little more than displeased with what she was about to say, "I know my brother is very annoying, but it's only the ride back to Mysidia. At least you don't have to live with him."  
  
It was a good point she made, but still Tellah quirked an eyebrow at her as though he knew he was getting the raw deal. He glanced over at Palom who, at the time, happened to be digging in his nose for who knows what. Tellah let out an exasperated sigh as he finally gave in to this decision which he felt had been extremely against his will. Palom seemed a little miffed that they were being so stubborn to ride with him.  
  
"What's that face for? What's wrong with riding with me?" Palom asked as he gave each of them an irritated look, "What, do I smell bad?"  
  
Cecil started to chuckle as the boy continued to gripe about everyone's attitude at the moment. Tellah looked up at him with a devilish glare, obviously not amused that he had to ride with the little mage with the mouth. Cecil stopped laughing, but he chuckled inwardly as he just gave Tellah a shrug. The Sage reluctantly climbed aboard Palom's chocobo and immediately noticed that Palom did, in fact, smell bad. Tellah realized it was going to be a long trip back to Mysidia as they slowly trotted through the forest and back out into the plains towards the western horizon.   
  
* * *  
  
One...  
  
...born of a dragon  
  
hoisting the light and the dark  
  
arises high up in the sky...  
  
...to the still land.  
  
Veiling the moon with the light of eternity,  
  
it brings another promise...  
  
...to mother earth...  
  
"...with a bounty and mercy," the Elder finished the prayer within the sanctity of the tower, the whispered words carried through ages of life and death all sealed inside this room. It was completely dark, save for a pillar of light that burst through an aperture in the ceiling, igniting the Elder's withered figure. There he kneeled before the essence of every prayer, every spirit that had ever dwelled there. The wisdom of so many before him, filling him with things he still had yet to understand. But there was one thing he did understand, and he could see it clearly as though the picture had been painted before his very eyes. The light pouring in fed his face with warmth as he openly welcomed it, arms outstretched to it as though he wished to have it.   
  
"Show me what I wish to see," the Elder whispered to the gentle sunlight as it washed over the lids of his eyes, projecting visions through them into his inner being. He could see things others only dreamed of seeing, the lives of every living thing portrayed within his mind. But he sought only one life, the life of one that would hopefully be the saving grace of the world as he knew it. That was more important than any altercation he may have with the Dark Knight of Baron, the hand that rent tears and soul from Mysidia.  
  
It was hard for any person to push such a devastating trauma aside, for it pushed just as hard to break in and stir the hatred inside. Mysidia seemed torn from their good nature since that day, an upswelling of anger pulling them apart. The Elder was the only one who had seen that small ray of light, deep in Cecil's heart, desperately trying to break free though held tight by his unwillingness to let go. Though it pained him to think that one who so coldly destroyed the life of his village would soon be its savior, he had to maintain the mindset that this was no longer a matter of his village. This was a matter of every life that existed on this earth, everything that carried any sort of spirit or soul. This was a war for the very lives that anyone and everyone cherished.  
  
"Please show me what once was dark has now been turned to light," the Elder whispered his plea to the radiant warmth that kissed his skin. The visions flashed brightly for a moment before fading into complete darkness, an endless void in his eyes. The Elder couldn't explain the sign, his heart sinking at the sight of so much darkness. But there was something out there, out in the void, a small twinkle in the farthest corner of the darkness. As soon as he noticed it, the light began to grow, devouring the surrounding black. With a sudden explosion the light completely enveloped him, draping white curtains around him and a lonely warrior lay kneeling before him, facing the floor. To every hope and desire in the Elder's heart, the man lifted his head, and Cecil's brilliant blue eyes fell softly upon him.   
  
The Elder's eyes shot open as tears began to stream down his face, shining crystals of water in the light of the sun splashing on the stone. It was as though he had just seen the face of God himself. Words were the last thing that could explain what he was feeling, but he cried to say what he had always hoped to see.  
  
"He...truly is..."   
  
* * *  
  
Cecil's foot touching the ground just outside of the village was just as uncomfortable as it had been before, the thought of climbing down the ladder from his airship resurfacing quickly in his mind before being swept away. Twice he had come as a dark knight, a horrible demon that they would've just as soon spat upon as looked at. He couldn't even imagine how they would perceive him now, whether or not he would be forgiven or treated just the same. He could only hope that he would be able to walk through Mysidia without causing too much trouble. It seemed so peaceful, a peace he dared not destroy with his presence, but he was forced to do it no matter how much he wanted not to. He could only hope they would understand now.   
  
The others came up behind him in support, Palom and Porom giving him their kindest expressions in hopes to push him forward. Tellah's eyes were not as confident as they gazed warily at the village before them. Cecil noticed this, but left the old man to his way.  
  
"Cecil, I'm sorry but I cannot go with you," Tellah suddenly came forward, leaving little surprise on Cecil's face, "There is something I have to take care of first. I'll know where to find you."  
  
Cecil simply gave the Sage a respectful nod before he walked off, alone into the fray of Mysidia. Cecil watched him as he disappeared into a small crowd down an unseen alley.   
  
"Don't worry Mr. Cecil. We're here with you," Porom spoke up through the silence that had ensued. Cecil looked down at her, at a face he couldn't possibly be anything but happy to see. Even her brother was trying his best to cheer him up.  
  
"If anyone tries anything, I'll be sure to show 'em who they're messin' with," Palom gave the Paladin a confident wink. Cecil soon found a smile on his face, a refreshing warmth passing through him as he felt the light urging him to press on. He felt like he could do anything with such a feeling. He felt like he was ready.  
  
The village of Mysidia was lively as the late afternoon sun bathed the earth with a soft, warm glow. Shadows danced all over the grounds and buildings as it seemed as though the entire town was out and about, running errands or just out talking with each other about this and that. There had been a friendly air drifting over the town, as though all their troubles had been washed away ever since the dark knight had left their village. Not a single person in Mysidia believed he would make it back alive, some of them actually celebrating his death the very day he left. It all came crashing down on them at once, the entire village becoming deathly silent and still as Cecil charily made his way through, the twins never leaving his side for a moment. Not a single pair of eyes strayed from his figure as he tried to ignore the penetrating stares that ate away at his confidence, burrowing in his mind. The feeling of so many unwanted faces leering at him nearly turned him around to leave, but he knew he had to keep pushing forward through the wall of hate they had built for him.  
  
At first it was just their stares, just their threatening eyes that kept him so tense, his nerves tied in knots all over his body. But then there was movement in the crowd, a shift in the masses as Cecil further encroached on their serenity. Fear immediately jumped into his heart as he realized just what was happening. They were closing him in, surrounding him completely until he could walk no further towards the tower, or in any direction for that matter. Three hundred and sixty degrees of Mysidian eyes fixed on him, his feet frozen solid to the ground. He couldn't even bear to look at all of them, only trying his best to look through those in front of him, looking for some hope ahead. But there was nothing...nothing but a dense wall of black and white.   
  
'Oh God,' Cecil's thoughts crept through as he remembered walking through threats and curses days before, 'Not again!'  
  
A short nightmare pursued his thoughts for a swift moment as they closed in, but it was all washed away as he watched the little mage at his side bravely advance. The crowd immediately stopped as Palom defiantly stood before them, an unusual look of selflessness upon him.  
  
"Alright, what are you all starin' at? Are you surprised?!" Palom willingly stepped forward to defend the terrified Paladin standing in the depths of a silent storm, "This guy gave everything he had and you all still can't see it. He's been to hell and back to prove us all wrong."  
  
"He's right," Porom stepped forward as well, giving her loving support to the Paladin behind her, "We should all be ashamed that we've judged him like this. He's changed his ways and has become a Paladin. He will save us from the ones who truly robbed us of the crystal."  
  
"HE was the one that robbed us!" an uproarious mage spat at the children, still unable to see past Cecil's new face, "It was him that came here and destroyed everything that we stand for, and we don't want him here again!"  
  
This only started more commotion among the crowd, their minds still set in stone that Cecil was better to them dead than alive. Their forgiveness wasn't coming as easily as Cecil had hoped, but he still could not blame them for their actions, though he wished they could see what he had become.  
  
"How do we even know he became a Paladin?!" another wizard shouted at them furiously, "For all we know he just took off his armor! How do we know this isn't some trick he's trying to pull to dig into us again?!"  
  
"YEAH!!" the crowd put extreme emphasis on their stance against him, but the twins weren't going to put down their fight. Palom seemed nearly ready to raise fists and Porom had the look of the devil upon her face.  
  
"You all need to open your eyes!" Palom shouted at the angry mob, Porom hot on his heels to continue his thought.  
  
"Look at him! Take a good look at him and you'll see what he has truly become!" Porom was almost as loud as her brother at this point.   
  
"All I can see is our blood on HIS hands!!" another member of the mob threw out into open, igniting more fire in the crowd. Things were getting dangerous as the anger seemed to be growing rapidly, the mindless stares turning into fury. All hope seemed to collapse on Cecil's mind as he just closed his eyes, wishing everything would just end, his life, his so-called "quest". It wasn't worth all this. He had left it behind at Mount Ordeals but he still could not escape his dark past. He wanted it to stop.  
  
"SILENCE!!"  
  
The Elder's voice crushed mountains of voices as it ripped through the air, falling on the mob with an intense thunder. Everyone was instantly quiet, all eyes turned to the man who stood before the marble stair of the tower, with dark robes hanging flawlessly from his structure. He gave his people a shameful look as he witnessed their severe persecution of the man they failed to see. His mind was worried about his people's reactions to this, for he saw a faint cloud of darkness hanging over them, surrounding the magnificent light that was the White Knight, Cecil.   
  
"Sir Cecil," the Elder called to him, "You'll have to excuse my people for being so disrespectful. Please come inside. We must talk."  
  
The Elder commanded the crowd to let him pass, the motion of his hands parting the small sea of people. Palom and Porom led Cecil through them, both giving each person a dirty look, their tongues occasionally hanging from their mouths. Cecil barely remembered how to walk as he stumbled his first steps before passing through the arches and up the stairs. He counted each one he walked upon, trying so hard to calm his nerves. Palom and Porom both opened the double doors as Cecil stood motionless for a moment before the sacred temple.   
  
He looked up into the sky, the tip of the tower reaching out to every cloud that passed nearby. It was a magnificent structure he realized at the moment, and he only felt worse that he had never actually taken the time to take in what it truly was. All he had seen before was another mission under orders, a satin stone that had cursed him the second he touched it. He was beginning to see life in a whole new way, things he had never seen before and he still didn't know how to feel. He could only hope that it would come with time.  
  
"After you, Mr. Cecil," Porom offered the open door for the daydreaming Paladin. He glanced at her as she did her best to make him happy, her smile inviting warm feelings to come out. At that moment he couldn't have been happier to have her with him through all this...and her brother, too, of course.  
  
"C'mon, man. The Elder's waitin'," Palom gestured the Paladin forward. Cecil took a refreshing breath before he calmly walked through into tower of prayers. The moment he set foot inside he felt warm, his bare feet taking comfort in the plush red carpets that lay about the floor. He felt strangely enlightened as he graced the atmosphere with a faint light, something he could not explain, but the Elder's smile took away what worries he had as he approached, kneeling before him in respect.  
  
"Please stand, Sir Cecil," the Elder begged, bending down to pick him up, "It should be me who is kneeling before you."  
  
Still on a knee, Cecil glanced up at the Elder, his brilliant blue eyes falling softly upon him. The Elder seemed to catch his breath in his throat for a moment as he stared at the Paladin before him. Cecil stood up as to his wishes while the Elder swiftly composed himself.  
  
"Once more I am sorry for what happened outside," the Elder tried to explain the village's sudden rage, "It seems their eyes still are clouded by things of the past. But this is no longer about such things. It has become much more substantial than they will ever know. But you...you are..."  
  
"Yep, he's a Paladin, alright." Palom cut in as the Elder seemed to lose his words in awe at Cecil's new form. Porom was nearly about to pound him for interrupting the Elder, but she was a little excited herself to be a witness to the trials.  
  
"It was the most wonderful thing I've ever seen. Such a beautiful transformation."  
  
"Although, to be honest, I didn't think he'd actually make it. I guess we didn't have to spy on him after all.," Palom quickly followed his sister's words. The Elder cocked an eye at the boy, letting him know he had said just a little too much. Cecil was a little thrown by what he'd heard, catching the Elder's eyes with a questionable stare.   
  
"I...I'm so ashamed," the Elder sighed to the floor, his eyes trailing off with his voice, "I wish I had never asked them to spy on you like I did. It seems it was a mistake."  
  
"There was no mistake," Cecil gave the Elder a warm smile, one that was graciously returned, "You did what you did because you had to. Considering my past it was to be expected."  
  
"Although it seems as though it was unnecessary after all," the Elder glanced at the twins still standing firm at Cecil's sides, "But thank you, Palom, Porom."  
  
"We're sorry we deceived you, Mr. Cecil," Porom apologized with her tender eyes that Cecil could always forgive, her smile just the same.  
  
"Yea, dude, we're sorry, but we didn't really have a choice," Palom gave the best apology he could muster which was more than Cecil really expected, "You know how it is. Whatever the old man says, goes."  
  
Palom was soon rubbing the pain shooting from the back of his head where Porom's hand had hit no more than a second after he finished his sentence.  
  
"You're an idiot, you know that?" she flared at him.  
  
"Yea, but you're ugly and I can always go read a book," he came back at her. The two siblings continued to argue with each other as Cecil and the Elder went on with the matter at hand.   
  
"I still cannot believe what I see before me," the Elder went on with wonderment, "You truly are a Paladin."  
  
"It would appear so," Cecil said with a smile, one that faded a bit as he continued, "Although after what happened outside I'm not so sure."  
  
"Do not doubt yourself because of them. They are blind to what you are and what you will do for us, for all of mankind."  
  
"All of mankind?" Cecil was immediately intrigued by those last few words.  
  
"Yes, Sir Cecil. There is darkness spreading throughout the land, and you are the only one who can destroy it," the Elder answered solemnly, "You have purged the darkness from your soul and received the holy light. It can only mean that this is your fate, to save our world from the darkness that consumes it. I fear it has already consumed our people and I sense that is why they reacted so violently to your return."  
  
"I don't know if I'm strong enough..." Cecil knew as soon as the words left his mouth that he could not think like that. His doubt over his abilities would not suit his new character as a Paladin. A white knight would never say such things. For a moment he glanced over at the two children still in heated verbal assault against each other, and in that moment the Elder noticed the sword strapped to his back, a brief reflection from its golden handle, a word scribbled on the blade, catching his eye.  
  
"It can't be..." the Elder let out softly, Cecil's attention springing back to the conversation as the Elder came forward to try and get a closer look. Cecil wasn't sure exactly what the Elder was doing at first, "...that sword."  
  
Upon hearing the words Cecil immediately reached behind him, grasping the warm handle of the sword that the light had given him. It slid silently from the leather sheath he had retrieved on their descent, its lustrous blade glowing softly in harmony with his body. The Elder seemed speechless at the sight of such a graceful weapon.   
  
"It was given to me within the shrine at the summit," Cecil explained as he held it in his palms for the Elder to examine, his weathered eyes tracing it over thoroughly, "At the shrine there was a strange light that--"  
  
"Ages of prophecy, prayer, faith," the Elder cut him off as though he had never been listening at all, his mind completely torn from Cecil's words, "And now, look!"  
  
Cecil glanced at what the Elder was examining at that particular moment, following his bony finger as it ran across the face of the blade, running over a line of words that ran from base to tip.   
  
"Yes, I saw that when I first received it, but I was unsure of exactly what it was. Do you know what it means?"  
  
"It is..." the Elder seemed fuddled for a moment as he turned his eyes up to Cecil, "The Legend of Mysidia."  
  
"Legend?" Cecil was only left in a deeper pit of confusion as the Elder went back to studying the blade, whispering nonsense to himself that Cecil wasn't paying any mind to. He still had questions that needed answers, "Listen, that light on Mount Ordeals called me 'my son'. Now I don't know exactly what that means, but do you have any idea what that light was or where it came from?"  
  
"I'm sorry, I do not know anything of the light you speak of," the Elder's words didn't bring quite as much comfort as Cecil would've liked. He put the sword away as not to distract the Elder any further, "And nor do I know exactly what the legend means, but we from Mysidia are here to pray for it. We have been praying for this legend ever since you first came here."  
  
"And what are you praying for in this legend?"  
  
"We pray for the One with the holy light, the One that will wash away the darkness that plagues us," the Elder was looking into Cecil's eyes with an austereness that left him a bit unsettled, the feeling that the weight of the world was being dropped upon him, "I believe you are that One."  
  
He wasn't too far off it seemed. A grave silence pursued the Elder's last words as they rang like the crash of broken glass falling to the floor. He was now the savior of the world, the one person that would stand up to this great darkness. His mind raced over itself, a nervous drop of sweat popping out from his forehead. All he had wanted was to save his friends, and his love, from Golbez, the man clad in darkness who could only be defeated by a man of light. Little had he expected to actually be placed into a position as 'destroyer of all evil'. It seemed as though he was finding out these small details when it was the most convenient for everyone else, but he couldn't simply say no to such a thing. It certainly involved his quest for his friends and the death of Golbez. Questions still popped out of every unknown place in his head, but sense was a hard thing to make out of all of them. The silence continued between the two men as the twins beside them were still bickering about how stupid the other was. Cecil could have used some steel in his nerves at that moment, that moment when everything came to a standstill.  
  
Cecil's heart jumped as the double doors behind him were violently forced open, swinging wildly into the walls as a devilish looking figure marched in, his scarlet robes having a hard time keeping up with him. Everyone turned to look at the unmannerly guest, and the Elder could only find a smile to see such a familiar face.  
  
"Cecil! We must go, quickly!" Tellah burst forth in an absolute frenzy, "It's Golbez!"  
  
  
  
_______________________________________________________________________________  
  
To those that have read Part One, I am in the process of revamping it, beefing it up a little where it really needs it, as well as writing a prologue which I just finished. Hopefully by the time I update this part I'll have Part One completely redone and you guys can enjoy it all over again(as if you enjoyed it the first time :P). Thanks for reading and a Happy New Year to all.  
  
-Spiff 


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